Whisker Fatigue in Cats and Its Solution

Has your cat started acting unusually bratty or strange at meal times?

There may be significant changes in eating habits like reduction in the intake or throwing food on the floor which are indicative of high-stress levels.

  

The first conclusion that you draw may be a psychological disorder however there is another reason behind this crabedness known as Whiskers fatigue. It might sound like a terminology made up by kitty hypochondriacs, however, proof suggests that it’s quite real.

It is actually a condition that can affect cats, and cause them a great deal of stress. Let's take a deeper dive into the function of whiskers and what whisker fatigue is.

 Whiskers are NOT Ordinary Hair! 

Whiskers are the thick hair that are scientifically named is vibrissae. They're sensitive at the tips, where each one includes a sensory organ known as proprioceptor. Once the proprioceptors touch an object, vibrations travel down the whiskers follicles to the roots that are located in nerve-rich areas of cat’s body (mostly in the face but behind the front paws as well).
Read Also Damn lies and cat statistics

How do whiskers work?

The general information regarding whiskers is that they help your cat to go through narrow spaces, however, they also help them navigate through the dark exhibiting the sense of touch and sensing air currents caused by objects in motion. To perform these essential kitty “chores”, whiskers send messages to your cat’s nervous system that determine the location, size and texture of objects.

It has been a long held belief that cats can see in the dark but the fact of the matter is that acute sensitivity of a cat’s whiskers appears to be partially responsible for their successful navigation through the dark.

How do Whisker get stressed out?

Whiskers translate sensory messages as they touch many things throughput the day. However, when your kitty is hungry; bumping of the sensitive whiskers in its muzzle against the sides of    food bowl that is too deep may cause him whisker fatigue. Imagine someone pulling at your hair every time you open up to eat something! Sucks right? That is exactly what your cat feels.

What to Do!

Fortunately, there is an easy solution:

• Change your cat’s narrow and small food bowl with a wide, deep or even a flat food dish. Make sure, the bowls are wide enough to not touch the cat’s whiskers.  

• Steel, glass, or ceramics bowls are the best option as they are easier to clean and do not accumulate bacteria, unlike plastic containers. Cat Evolution has specially designed food and water bowls that will provide a solution for your problem in no time.

• Generally cats like a lip-less, large flowing water source, for drinking. So cat parents should provide an automatic, fresh source, like a smart automatic cat feeder.

•  Another presented solution may ask you to trim the cats’ whiskers, but this is simply a NO, NO. Trimming cat's whisker can mute their expressions, slow down their perceptions and in general cause discomforts and annoy them.

So we can assume that whiskers are one of the important “organs”of the feline family. When it is fatigued, it causes discomfort and even pain. In addition, it makes eating and drinking stressful. The solution is fairly simple, so the best route would be prevention